This invention relates generally to data centers and in particular to providing power for rack-mounted equipment in a data center upon failure of a main power circuit in the power supply system for a rack.
With the advent of the Internet, data centers have become a practical and viable solution for cloud computing or any large-scale IT operations for business and services. A data center typically houses racks of computer servers, which provide both processing and data storage functionalities, as well as telecommunication and networking equipment, such as switches and routers, to support the communication requirements of the servers. Data center components are often collocated, where resources are shared across an organization or among multiple organizations.
Given the centralized nature of data centers, it is beneficial to maximize the service availability (e.g., 99.5% or greater in time) because downtime may result in severe consequences to those who rely on the data center and lost income to the data center operators. Since a primary cause of data center downtime is power failures, data centers are often equipped with backup power systems, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and generators. In addition, massive energy consumption by data centers causes increased resource depletion and greenhouse gas emission, among other environmental concerns. Accordingly, efficient power solutions are desired that not only guarantee high power availability, but are also cost-effective and environmentally-friendly.